Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jul 2000
Source: Bay Area Reporter (CA)
Copyright: 2000 The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R.
Contact:  
Address: 395 9th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Website: http://www.ebar.com/ 
Author: Terry Beswick

CITY ISSUES FIRST MEDICAL POT ID CARDS

"Today we are here to herald the creation of the cannabis voluntary ID card
system," announced Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mitch Katz last
Friday, July 14 before a small gathering of medicinal marijuana supporters
on the steps of the DPH building at 101 Grove Street across from San
Francisco's City Hall. 

Get 'em while they're hot. They're the new non-identifying ID cards which,
for a fee of $25 and a little paperwork, the city is now giving users of
medical marijuana and their primary caregivers the chance to go legit. The
new medical cannabis ID card with the health department's imprimatur - but
with no identifying information on them save the cardholder's picture - can
simply be flashed at inquisitive law enforcement officers, proving that the
city has certified them as legitimate medical cannabis users or primary
caregivers (people who help a primary cardholder grow or maintain a ready
stash of cannabis). 

In San Francisco, busts for the personal use of marijuana - medical or
otherwise - are not common, according to the San Francisco Police
Department. But harassment is still known to occur, and the new program is
designed to take some of the worry away from those who imbibe the weed for
its known medicinal benefits. 

The DPH program was made possible by voter-approved Proposition 215 in 1996,
which also made it possible for several still-unregulated but above-ground
businesses that sell pot in the city to open their doors and advertise their
wares. 

"People know that the voters of the state of California are recognizing that
cannabis has a very important role in managing the symptoms of people with
HIV and other conditions," Katz added, noting that he recommends marijuana
for some of his own patients. 

Supervisor Mark Leno, who had hammered together the legislation and
facilitated the city's creation of the new card, was even more effusive in
his praise for the new program. 

"Medical cannabis is effective, medical cannabis is safe, medical cannabis
rules!" exulted a card-waving Leno. "This plastic card recognizes not only
the safety but the efficacy of medical cannabis." 

In addition to Katz, Leno was joined at the announcement by District
Attorney Terence Hallinan, Assistant Chief of Police Earl Sanders, and Wayne
Justmann, director of the San Francisco Patient's Resource Center, one of
the largest dispensaries of medicinal marijuana operating in San Francisco. 

Passed four years ago, Proposition 215 has been notorious for the vagueness
of its guidance on the new law's implementation, and though a new statewide
ID card program - which unlike San Francisco's may not be voluntary - is
under consideration in the Legislature, local police officers, city
governments, and the medical pot clubs in their jurisdiction have struggled
to devise their own systems. Leno's legislation creating the city's new
cards was modeled on similar ID card systems in Oakland, Arcata, and
Mendocino County. 

"People need to understand that this card deserves 100 percent respect,"
said Leno, who then valiantly proceeded to attempt to garner continued
respect for those with just a letter of recommendation from their personal
physician. 

"People who don't carry the card but [do carry] the letter also deserve
respect," asserted Leno, even going so far as to suggest that SFPD's Sanders
would say as much. 

"We as police officers are bound to uphold the law," Sanders began, "and 215
passed the last time I checked the law." 

But the question, of course, is in how the law is implemented on the street
- - and as a practical matter it is San Francisco's finest who will look to
the assistant chief for guidance in this area. And if the look on Sander's
face was any indication, anyone who uses marijuana for medicinal purposes in
San Francisco had best fix their hair and hurry on down to the first floor
of the DPH building, where they can get their very own medical cannabis ID
card. 

"This is the valid club card," declared Sanders, ignoring Leno's physician's
recommendation letter issue, and further stated that individual clubs' ID
cards will no longer be honored by the cops. "This card is the only way
[officers can distinguish between legitimate and no-legitimate users].
That's why we sat down and developed this program, so my officers will be
able to tell." 

On Tuesday, July 18, SFPD spokesman Sherman Ackerson told the Bay Area
Reporter that the department has "no grace period" established to allow
medical cannabis users time to be informed about the new program and to walk
through the necessary paperwork to physicians and caregivers, required to
obtain the official card. 

Leno told the B.A.R on Tuesday that his office would continue to meet with
community activists and the SFPD to ensure that the cops know that the
program is voluntary, and to educate them on the validity of the doctor's
letter of recommendation as a proof of compliance with the law. 

Most of the medical pot clubs in town are on board with the program,
according to Leno, and are comfortable with its confidentiality procedures,
in which no name is imprinted on the cards, and paper applications are
shredded by DPH days after the cards are issued. 

Though Justmann led a picket outside DPH several months ago, concerned that
the cannabis community was not being adequately consulted as the program was
developed, he was first to volunteer for the not-necessarily-foolproof
confidential program, and he also got the first card. Justmann had praise
for all the participants in the ID card's development, thanking Leno, and
also singling out Hallinan for his longtime leadership on the issue. 

"It started with the will of the people," Justmann told the crowd. "We found
that there was a need for a program, and we found that we had a friend in
our district attorney." 

Hallinan, one of the few law enforcement officials statewide who supported
Proposition 215, then referred him to Leno to get the ball rolling with the
legislation, Justmann said. 

But card or no card, other than the occasional police harassment or the
possibility of federal enforcement of marijuana laws down the line, there
should be little worry of being prosecuted for small time possession within
the city limits. 

"If you are using marijuana pursuant to a doctor's recommendation," Hallinan
stated, lest there be lingering confusion, "you will not be charged with a
crime in San Francisco."
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MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk